Polluter giveaway proposal hits Gonzalez at King William Fair
Smile and wave … no matter what they throw at you. Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com Queen Ant be praised. San Antonio’s Poobah, Representative Charlie Gonzalez, is on the right side of the pending climate legislation. That is to say, he hasn’t dared to suggest we should not be scurrying about like mad little insects to cap…
More water under the bridge
By Gilbert Garcia Phil Hardberger’s impatience with the often-glacial pace of the City governing process hasn’t put much of a dent in his public reputation, but the mayor seems to sense that the issue is gaining steam as he prepares to leave office. Hardberger barely averted a PR disaster on April 16, when local environmental…
Los Lobos rock Gruene Hall, head to Austin & Houston
Greg M. Schwartz gschwartz@sacurrent.com East LA’s legendary rockers Los Lobos tore it up at Gruene Hall last night, tipping their collective cap several times to San Antonio. It was a pleasure indeed to see one of the country’s finest bands at one of the nation’s most historic venues. The venue bills itself as Texas’ oldest…
Citizens file to stop STP nuke expansion
Greg M. Schwartz gschwartz@sacurrent.com If CPS Energy thinks the citizens of South Texas are just going to stand by while the company sinks billions of dollars into a risky nuclear expansion project, it looks like they’ve got another think coming. Several Texas groups filed a petition with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week to block…
Chaléwood No. 5: Paulina Gaitan
Paulina Gaitan — Sin Nombre By Kiko Martinez San Antonio Current contributing writer paperboy5456@yahoo.com Originally from Viahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico, actress Paulina Gaitan has taken on some serious roles in both English and Spanish productions from Voces inocentes directed by Luis Mandoki to Trade starring Kevin Kline and Kate del Castillo. In her most recently work,…
Tamez attorney pushes back on Homeland land seizure
Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com Eloisa Tamez is hours away from losing a portion of her family land in El Calaboz to U.S. Homeland Security. In its push to fulfill its mandate to establish nearly 700 miles of border wall, Homeland has benefited from its clearance to waive dozens of federal laws under the Real ID Act.…
Best of SA winner Jason Dady does BBQ, too
Release Date: 2009-04-22 On their approach to the airport, very large aircraft loom low over Two Bros. BBQ Market. Closer at hand, very small children make an even greater sonic impact. “I told my kids this was the only one of my places they could scream,” says Jason Dady (The Lodge, Bin 555, Tre Trattoria), who…
The Soloist
The Soloist Director: Joe Wright Screenwriter: Joe Wright Cast: Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Jamie Foxx, Nelsan Ellis Release Date: 2009-04-22 Rated: PG-13 Genre: Film You can learn more about the story of mentally ill musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers in a 12-minute segment of a March 60 Minutes broadcast than in the 109…
Fiesta: King William Fair and Parade
Release Date: 2009-04-22 For the local arts community King William Fair and Parade is perfect because it’s right in its backyard. Less driving, but more drinking — that’s an honest trade-off. The day begins with a hilarious parade that truly showcases the diversity and history of the Southtown neighborhood. The party settles into King William…
Fiesta: NIOSA
Release Date: 2009-04-22 The San Antonio Conservation Society presents this long-running tradition at La Villita, and it’s known as the largest historic-preservation festival in the nation — not that Northside teenagers looking to get drunk would know about that. Basically, this is the densest, most crowded event of Fiesta. For some it’s the highlight of…
National Poetry Month: Word Bop: Ted Joans Lives
Release Date: 2009-04-22 A National Poetry Month event honoring the words of Ted Joans. Joans was friends with Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, and has been considered the only black Beat Poet. Cathy Lee reads poetry with music by Richard Oppenheim, Jordan Pollard, and vocalist Gil Centeno. This looks to be an interesting event; don’t…
Artpace ArtTalks: Tavia Nyong’o
Release Date: 2009-04-22 Artpace presents artist Tavia Nyong’o for the first lecture of the 2009 ArtTalks series: Figure and Ground: Textiles in African Diasporic Portraiture from Seydou Keïta to Kehinde Wiley. Nyong’o will discuss how fabrics, patterns, textiles, quilts, and codes operate to establish and subvert notions of the past as heritage. Free, 6:30pm, Artpace,…
Los Lobos
Release Date: 2009-04-22 Granted, this show comes in the middle of Fiesta festivities, but Los Lobos are an incredible band that garners critical praise year after year, even if many people only know them for covering a song in that Lou Diamond Phillips movie. (Ritchie!!!) They’ve been together since the Carter administration and are a…
Fear Snakeface
Release Date: 2009-04-22 For a band that normally plays parties and unexpected events (art openings, a bicycle gang rally underneath a bridge, to name two) Fear Snakefaces has built a very loyal, local following. Singer Sid St. Onge is a songwriting genius, mixing the simple pop of Jonathon Richman with the occasional guitar meandering of…
Slab Cinema: Evenhand
Release Date: 2009-04-22 Slab Cinema screens Evenhand, a realistic police drama set in San Antonio, written by former San Antonian Mike Jones, who was voted by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Cinema in 2003. (No, not the same person as the rapper.) It’s an introspective approach to the police-drama…
Devin the Dude
Release Date: 2009-04-22 The ugly and totally uncool truth is that Devin the Dude’s most recent album, 2008’s Landing Gear, was pretty underwhelming. But, in all fairness, if you were a Houston hip-hop fixture since the early ‘90s, responsible for a steady stream of lesser-known classics from your 1994 debut with the Odd Squad to…
Best of 2009
Complete List of Winners Mini Me (for mommy and daddy’s little darlings) You Turn Me On ( and sometimes off) You’ve Been Served (order up!) Vice and Virtue (round up the usual suspects!) Shop Till You Drop (bagging the best bargains) Working-Class Heroes (we salute you) Special Places (deep in our hearts) …
Cornyation 2009: Behind the scenes
Meet the artists and organizers who create the infamous annual fundraiser on a shoestring and glitter.
Refashioned
Interested in seeing creativity combine with environmental awareness? In celebration of Earth Day, Whole Foods Market has teamed up with students from the University of the Incarnate Word’s Fashion Management Department and Green Spaces Alliance of South Texas to put on an Eco Fashion Show. From noon to 1 p.m. April 22, 20 striking outfits…
Dear Uncle Mat
I cannot get a date at all. I’ve been trying since June 2004, when I ended my last one. So far I’m still lonely and still quite single. Now I’m straight, but I don’t frequent bars and clubs and I’m not much of a drinker. I’m not religious either, but I believe in a higher…
¡ASK A MEXICAN!
Dear Mexican: First of all, please don’t think that I’m a self-loathing Mexican; I was born in the U.S. to northern Mexican parents. As far as I know, my ancestry is just Indian, Spanish, and a little French. For some strange reason, I have developed an intense fascination, and you might say, love, for Arab…
Invincibility
A pretty, tatted blond waitress slings drinks for a trio seated at a back table at Northern Lights Lounge in Detroit. A DJ — Dez from Slum Village — has Dwele cooking the woofers and a line of relaxed folks sit hunchbacked on stools along the bar while some guy’s comfortably couch-slouched watching big-screen sports…
The Circle Of Inconvenient Half-Truths
“It means no worries for the rest of your days It’s our problem-free philosophy Hakuna Matata!” — “Hakuna Matata,” The Lion King Disney’s Earth is a stunning spectacle of nature richness, packaged and delivered without the faintest whiff of corporate deception. But don’t worry, it’s in there. Racing from above the Arctic Circle, across…
The QueQue
Go with Phil’s flow Last week’s City Council session provided the latest example of Mayor Hardberger’s impatience with the niceties of open, representative government. With three all-important SAWS Board positions opening up (for four-year terms), the better approach would have been to encourage applications, allow the Council to interview all serious candidates, and provide some…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Astrology and Tarot cards are my favorite divinatory tools, but I also get a lot of use out of magnetic poetry kits. These are boxes full of evocative words and symbols in the form of refrigerator magnets. Sometimes after analyzing your astrological omens, I’ll close my eyes, beam a question out…
Best of 2009 List of Winners
You’ve Been Served (order up!) Best 24/7 Restaurant Jim’s Restaurants Multiple locations 2. IHOP, multiple locations, 3. Mi Tierra Cafe´ & Bakery Best AYCE Buffet China Sea 13802 Embassy Row (210) 490-6500 2. Golden Corral, multiple locations, goldencorral.com 3. Golden Phoenix, 9323 Perrin Beitel, (210) 590-8448 Best Bakery/Panaderi´a Mi Tierra Cafe´ & Bakery 218 Produce…
Grey’s Anatomy
Grey’s Anatomy has the unique ability to tell you so much about a person. If I know you watch it, I immediately know that you saw Twilight multiple times in theaters, you bought a Wii for that awesome bowling game, and you are currently updating your Facebook status to say “Trying to piece my mind…
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
Here’s an idea for a game: You are a space marine fighting for your life against the demons of Hell. Also, you have just moved to a new town and need to meet all of your animal neighbors and run errands for them. Henry Hatsworth is similarly trans-genre in his first outing, and I mean…
Spongebob vs. The Big One: Beach Party Cook-Off
For 10 years now the world has been enjoying the wacky antics of Spongebob Squarepants. He has been seen in every merchandising form imaginable, including a video game for most mainstream genres. Spongebob vs. The Big One: Beach Party Cookoff, however, is his first step into the world of cooking simulators. Jack Kahuna Laguna is…
Trivial Pursuit
Most board games don’t make the transition to video games very smoothly. They are usually ways for publishers to try to make a quick buck and gamers get an inferior product as a result. However, EA has managed to keep the fun of Trivial Pursuit intact and even find ways to improve on its flaws.…
You Turn Me On
Best Evening News Best Sportscaster – Greg Simmons KSAT 12 ksat.com KSAT can’t match the flash of KENS 5’s “Eyewitness Newsreel” or the attention-getting international reporting of WOAI. But our readers value the station for its solid, unprepossessing presentation and its experienced on-air team. Steve Browne displays meteorological authority during his weather reports, Greg Simmons…
Rosy afterglow at the Pink Dome; euphoria short-lived
With the Dems making significant progress on their Take Back Texas 2010 agenda, and the term “moderate Republican” no longer the political-limbo sentence it was under Craddick, legislators averted an expected showdown over family-planning funding Friday. A handful of key Ds and Rs conferred, said one observer, and agreed to remove controversial provisions so they…
